On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of liberation from Nazi-Germany the Mauthausen Committee Austria has examined how it is with tolerance in Austria: Only when it comes to religion there are strong reservations, especially against Muslims: So two-thirds (65%) would have a problem if someone in the family wants to convert to Islam. A large gap exists between internal and external views: The Austrians would describe themselves as very tolerant (72%), but evaluate the majority of their countrymen as intolerant (60%). “Tolerance is a measure of how developed a society is. The more tolerant people are, the less they are susceptible to authoritarian patterns of action – and vice versa,” the chairman of the Mauthausen Committee Austria, Willi Mernyi, explains the background to the study. The polling firm meinungsraum.at surveyed 1,000 Austrians sensitive to tolerance issues. Overall, the study is a good reference for the Austrians: They are more tolerant than many might think. Thus, for example, three out of four compatriots (72%) had no problem when a woman from his own family marries an African. Similarly, homosexuality and same-sex marriage of three quarters of the population are accepted – even in its own family. Only a quarter of the population in many of these topics are clearly on the side of intolerance. More about the study on ORF.on. (ws)
